Firefighters Care for Old Lady for 27 Years after Her Daughter Kicked Her Out — Story of the Day

Mrs. Martin adored her daughter Daniela and gave her both a father and mother’s love after her husband died in a tragic incident, but Daniela eventually threw the old lady out of her house. However, as fate would have it, the young lady would soon come to regret her choice.

Mrs. Martin's husband, George, had served in the Colorado fire department for ten years, but she was always against the job because it wasn’t well-paying. “We have a young daughter, George,” she’d snap at her husband. “Do you really think your job will be able to support her?”

“Well, we've talked about it a lot of times, Samatha,” George would reply. “You know how much this job means to me. It was my father’s wish that I become a firefighter. After all, I am alive because of one of them.”

Mrs. Martin frowned at her husband’s excuses every time, and she eventually gave up hope that he’d even listen to her. Sometimes, she’d intentionally turn off his phone so that if he received an urgent call, he wouldn’t know about it and get fired from the job and would begin looking for new work.

One day, George learned about it and fought with her before leaving for the fire station. Sadly, that was the day he never returned. Fire engulfed the building his team had been rushed to, and before he could escape, it was too late.

Their daughter Daniela was just 5 years old when this happened. Since then, Mrs. Martin tried her hardest to put herself together to raise her daughter and give her both a mother and father’s love. But as Mrs. Martin aged, the trauma of her last fight with George developed into Alzheimer’s disease, and she began forgetting the most trivial of things.

Daniela, who was studying at Colorado State University, rushed to her mother when she learned of her condition. She took a leave from her college to look after her and was granted permission to attend classes occasionally. But despite her care, nothing changed with time.

Mrs. Martin continued to miss her husband, and over time, her Alzheimer’s progressed into dementia. At one point, the woman went to the market to get some groceries, but she didn’t return until late at night when one of their neighbors noticed her sitting alone on the streets.

Daniela couldn’t leave her mother alone, so she moved back in after graduating. She worked a part-time job at a company in the same town where she met the man of her dreams, Kevin. He was orphaned at a young age and had grown up in his grandparents’ house until they passed away.

Being head over heels in love, the two got married quickly and moved to Mrs. Martin’s house to care for her. However, the way they treated the older woman was awful, to say the least.

One day while they were all eating, Mrs. Martin dropped her food by accident. Daniela, who had just freshened up and taken a seat at the table, lost her cool. “What’s wrong with you, mom? Can’t you do even one thing properly?”

“Sorry, honey,” Mrs. Martin apologized. “It was a mistake. Don’t worry; I will clean it.”

“Mistake?!” Daniela screamed at her. “You’re correct. Taking care of you is unquestionably a mistake! I mean, how much do you want to drain Kevin and me? We’re already struggling to care for you, but you keep making the same mistakes over and over. It’s the third time this week that this has happened!”

“But honey—”

Before she could say anything, Kevin interrupted her. “Your daughter’s right, Mrs. Martin. She genuinely cares about you and is doing her best to help you. The very least you can do is show your appreciation for her! Anyway, you’d better clean up the mess now before the entire room begins to smell like food.”

Mrs. Martin got up from the table, teary-eyed, and slowly started cleaning the small mess she made. But even at this point, Daniela was unfazed. “No need to do all of that. This house has had enough of tolerating you. You are no longer going to stay here! In fact, you’re LEAVING RIGHT NOW!”

Daniela packed Mrs. Martin’s luggage and threw it out of the house. The poor lady struggled to fight her tears as she grabbed her bag and walked away.

With nobody to look after her and no house to live in, Mrs. Martin wandered the streets for a while until her legs gave way. She came to a halt in a park and almost burst into tears as she took a seat, remembering all the happy moments she had spent with George and Daniela.

The woman sobbed herself to sleep in the park that night and was awakened by a male voice the following day. “Mrs. Martin?” the man inquired. “It’s me, John! What are you doing here?”

Mrs. Martin didn’t recognize him. Fearing the man, she grabbed her luggage tightly. “I don’t know you. Stay away from me!”

John, who was a close friend of the Martins and George’s fellow firefighter, was shocked when she didn’t recognize him. But from her terrified expression, he could guess something wasn’t quite right.

So he inquired gently. “It’s okay, Mrs. Martin. I won't come near you, but do you by any chance remember John Akins? George’s fellow firefighter and friend?”

“Firefighter … John? Oh yeah, Johnny! You’re Johnny, right? Would you please call George and tell him that I don’t have a house anymore? Our daughter is angry, and she doesn’t want me to stay with her.”

At this point, John understood Mrs. Martin was not in the right condition. He somehow assured her that he would call George soon and drove her to the fire station. The firefighters there took care of her and hired a nurse who bathed her, fed her, and washed her clothes.

The next day, they had her checked by a doctor and discovered she had Alzheimer’s, which explained why she kept asking to call George. The doctors said the disease was still in the early stages and Mrs. Martin wouldn't show symptoms very often, and that if she was looked after properly, her condition wouldn't worsen.

The firefighters felt terrible for the poor lady and did their best to take care of her. They contributed money to rent her a small shelter for her to stay in and when they learned about how she ended up on the streets, they assisted her in suing her daughter for her home.

Months later, thanks to them, Mrs. Martin won in court and got her house back. And over time, her condition appeared to be stable as well.

However, even after she moved back to her home, the firefighters looked after her and cared for her. 27 years passed like that, and due to the firefighters' constant care, Mrs. Martins' Alzheimer's progression started slowing down. But the woman was always sad that her daughter or son-in-law never visited her.

In fact, the only time her greedy daughter returned to her mother’s house to apologize was when she had been dumped by her so-called husband and had nowhere to go, but it was too late by then. Mrs. Martin had left for her heavenly abode. However, she'd left a will that she had drafted a few years after she had moved into her house.

Daniela went to the lawyer’s office right away, thinking she would have the house to herself. But she discovered that Mrs. Martin had left it to the firefighters, who had decided to turn it into a museum dedicated to her and her heroic husband.

What can we learn from this story?

• You can’t avoid karma. Daniela kicked her sick mother out of the house, and in the end, Mrs. Martin deprived her of the property.
• Older people need love and care, and you should never refrain from giving it to them. The way the firefighters looked after Mrs. Martin and cared for her is a brilliant example of this.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an old lady who didn’t let anyone enter her house for 13 years.

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